Cheat Sheet: RingCentral Business SMS

At the very end of 2012, RingCentral introduced Business SMS – the first-in-class SMS solution that makes it possible to send and receive text messages at your RingCentral business number. Here’s a quick cheat sheet to help you get the most out of Business SMS.

What Do I Need?

To use Business SMS, you will need:

1) A local RingCentral telephone number. (We hope to enable Business SMS on toll-free numbers in the future.)
2) A RingCentral Office account.
3) A device that runs Android or iOS.
4) The current version of the RingCentral platform. (We are migrating accounts to this platform now and anticipate that every RingCentral customer will have it by the summer.)

How Do I Get Started?

If your RingCentral account has been migrated to the latest platform edition, your account is already Business SMS-enabled. To start using Business SMS, simply download the RingCentral app for either Android (download link) or iOS (download link). Log in to the app using your local RingCentral number and account password.

Where In the RingCentral App Is My SMS Inbox?

As this screenshot indicates, the default screen when logging in to the RingCentral app is the Messages screen. Tap “Text” on the right to see all of your Business SMS conversations.

How Do I Send a Business SMS?

To create a new Business SMS message after logging in to the RingCentral app, click the speech-bubble icon in the lower right corner of the screen. You will be prompted to enter the recipient’s number in the To: field, then press the + sign. (The RingCentral app syncs with the contacts in your RingCentral account, so you can enter the names of your contacts in the To: field rather than their numbers.)

Should you have more than one DigitalLine on your RingCentral account, you can select which DigitalLine you want your message to come from in the From: field.

Business SMS messages will show up in the RingCentral app, instead of your device’s native messages app. Depending on the notification settings you have applied to the RingCentral app, you may or may not see a badge or banner on your device when you receive a Business SMS message. On Android devices, new Business SMS messages will show up in the Notification Center. iOS devices will display a notification mark on the RingCentral app icon.

Messages sent to RingCentral company numbers will be delivered to the operator extension on the account.

Can I Use the RingCentral App in Landscape Mode on My Device?

Currently, only the iOS version of the RingCentral app works in landscape mode. We are working to add this functionality to the Android version of the app, as well.

Can I Send Text Messages Internationally With Business SMS?

No.

Does Business SMS Support Multimedia Messages (MMS)?

No.

Is It Possible to Send Business SMS Messages to a Group?

No. But you can send a Business SMS message to a department extension within your organization; all members of the department will receive a copy of the message.

Can I Prevent a Number From Sending Text Messages to My RingCentral Account?

Yes. You will have to block all communications from the number, however. This can be set up in the RingCentral online account interface. (In the latest version of the interface, mouse over Settings, then click My Settings > Screening, Greeting & Hold Music > Blocked Numbers.)

David

Sounds great. But I’m still waiting to be provisioned over to the new system. It’s now May 20, 2013.

Ben Foster

Hi David, sorry to have kept you waiting! I checked in on your behalf, and it looks like you’ll get on our new platform within the next two weeks.

Hi Daniel, good suggestion, and we are looking into how we can make that happen.

Clay

We would really like to be able to send SMS to an external group. This would be amazingly helpful for our organization.

Ben Foster

Thanks for the suggestion, Clay! We will file this as a feature request. Good idea.

Lionel Medina

It would be great if text messages could be sent from the desktop app. I have techs in the field all day and it would be great for my dispatcher to be able to text them directly from her desktop app when she needs to communicate info that doesn’t require a phone call.

Ben Foster

Great idea, Lionel. We’d love to have this feature and are exploring how we can make it happen. Thanks for the suggestion.

Carlos Corona Jr

You can run the RingCentral Mobile app on your desktop using BlueStacks.

Ben Foster

Good tip, thanks!

Chris

How do I switch the text numbers from softphone to direct dial number?

Ben Foster

You should have a “Choose number” option when you go to create a new message in the app. Do you not see it?

Chris

Yes but want to switch order

Ben Foster

Ah, got it. Our system defaults to the order in which you added direct numbers to your extension, so the first one you added will show up as the first option in the “Choose number” list within the app. In the future you’ll be able to change this number list, but for now you’ll have to manually select the number you want each time you compose a message. Sorry about that!

Chris

Do I need a softphone number if I have a direct dial number?

Ben Foster

You can have your direct number (the one currently assigned to your desk phone) ring your softphone. If you want to make calls from the softphone, however, it will need its own unique number.

Scott Markowitz

How can I change the number that appears when I initiate an SMS discussion? To be more specific, when I reply to a customer-initiated discussion, the number they see is whichever number they sent the text to, and if they text the main company number the operator extension (which happens to be mine),I can then reply as the main number. If I initiate a new discussion, however, it uses my digital line’s number. I would like to change that to my main company number.

Ben Foster

Hi Scott, you actually should be able to select your main company number, assuming it’s a local number. If you’d like me to take a closer look, email your account info to socialmedia@ringcentral.com.

Juan

Is there any way to integrate another APP si I’ll be allow to send MMS usign my RingCentral number?

Ben Foster

There is not, but this is a feature we’re considering adding at some point.